


Troubles Out of Sight

by peachywriter



Series: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, christmas special i guess, happy ending because it's christmas yay, i just really miss johnten as well, johnny just wants ten, johnten, mention of Kun, mentions of being beaten up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21903838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachywriter/pseuds/peachywriter
Summary: Johnny stands to sit beside Taeil, moving away his columnar and placing it on the low-rise coffee table before them. “You do recall that we weren’t fine the first time he was here, right? And wouldn’t it be weird to suddenly start liking someone you first hated?” He lets out a dreamy sigh, placing his chin on his palm as he sulks. “And isn’t it also weird to always think of them when you’re not supposed to? As if you can’t help it and they’re made to stay inside your head without any fucking reason?”“You tell me, Youngho. You’re the one who took a minor in literature, not me,” Taeil sassily replies, reaching out for his columnar to list down a balance. “And it’s Ten you’re talking about here, so what’s not to like, right? He’s handsome, funny, and smarter than you.”
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Series: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576276
Comments: 1
Kudos: 56





	Troubles Out of Sight

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is not connected to the doyu that came before this! and this is slightly longer to the doyu one i posted the other day!
> 
> hope you enjoy this! :D and thank you as well for reading again! and give kudos if you want to!

2018

Moon Taeil _never_ took in tenants towards the end of the year. To him, it completely threw off his computations for his accounts, preferring to have everything in black by the time the year ends. Johnny knew this, seeing that he’s helped the man balance his accounts every year.

Which is why Johnny found it puzzling to see movers climbing up the stairs after him, grunting as they carried stacks of boxes and placing them in front of room 305. 

Taeil catches him standing awkwardly by the door. “Youngho,” he calls, calling Johnny by his Korean name. The brunet turns towards the smaller man behind him and nods in recognition. “I thought you didn’t accept tenants by the end of every year?” Johnny directly shoots, peering up the spiral staircase.

“This one’s different. The one moving in with us had his expenses for the rest of the next year paid by his parents.” Johnny looks at him, a questioning look on his face, to which Taeil replies with a sly smile. “At least I already have _one_ tenant paid in full.”

_That’s suspicious and odd_ , Johnny thinks to himself, but resorts to keeping the comment to himself. Taeil was odd himself yet he trusts him like a friend he’s had for five years.

He trusts his decisions enough to believe that he’s doing the right thing.

However when the newcomer arrives at four in the morning on a cold December, buzzing on Johnny’s apartment bell, he knew he was cursed to that trust.

But honestly, what could Johnny expect aside from a tenant with a number for his name?

2019

To Johnny, Ten had been unusual ever since coming to live in Taeil’s apartment complex. Their first encounter resulted into an argument the first floor tenants were not having. In the end, Johnny was forced to sleep at a nearby motel (courtesy of Taeil’s friend, Kun) and Ten slept on the lobby couch, tightly curled up under his leather jacket.

An unsaid war went on between Ten and Johnny. On most days, it was just Johnny annoying Ten out of the apartment, ceaselessly playing piano pieces until his own fingers ached. Other times, it was Ten’s loud house parties below that irked the older man, the Thai’s apartment filled with rowdy music and cursing until Mrs. Ji had to call the police on them.

It wasn’t until one sweltering hot day in May that they made up. Ten’s air conditioning had broken down for the nth time that day and honestly, he’d rather swallow whatever pride he had left than melt under the fucking heat. Obviously, no sane person would be willing to sneak into someone’s house via the fire exit staircase but Ten wasn’t exactly conventional to begin with.

Johnny, however, was definitely _not_ prepared for the knocking that ruined his stir fry. Nor was he in the right mind to see Ten’s face peeking from the window just by his bathroom.

“What brings you here, Chittaphon?” Johnny asks as soon as he opens the window, quickly blocking the entrance which made Ten’s shoulders sag.

“Okay. I know we’ve been awkward and silently at war for months now but _please_ , I am in _need_ of cool air.”

“Why not just go somewhere cool then? The mall, maybe? It’s just a five minute commute from here, if you should know,” Johnny explains, hoping Ten would yield. 

However, Johnny wasn’t at all prepared for Ten’s simple retort, the Thai saying, “It wouldn’t hurt to share air conditioning anyways, your bill’s still the same.”

Funnily enough, he finds himself letting the Thai in and even sharing ice cream with him. And he takes note of how Ten smiles over his sweet dessert, his nose scrunching up in delight as he makes himself comfy on the love seat. And he observes as Ten’s lips gets caught with ice cream, handing him a thin piece of tissue as he asks him to wipe his mouth.

He takes note of how pretty his neighbor was. But Johnny chooses to look away, quietly enjoying the rest of his coffee as he pushes away the image of the Thai in his head.

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

Right into November, Johnny realizes he’s fucked.

“Oh _God_ , I’m completely endeared by him,” he whines to Taeil as he lays flat on the floor behind the couch, his back aching against the wood.

“Then tell him, coward,” Taeil answers, not batting an eyelash as he needed to concentrate on balancing accounts, thank you very much. “You’re Suh Youngho. What could possibly go wrong?”

Johnny stands to sit beside Taeil, moving away his columnar and placing it on the low-rise coffee table before them. “You do recall that we weren’t fine the first time he was here, right? And wouldn’t it be weird to suddenly start liking someone you first hated?” He lets out a dreamy sigh, placing his chin on his palm as he sulks. “And isn’t it also weird to always think of them when you’re not supposed to? As if you can’t help it and they’re made to stay inside your head without any fucking reason?”

“You tell me, Youngho. You’re the one who took a minor in literature, not me,” Taeil sassily replies, reaching out for his columnar to list down a balance. “And it’s Ten you’re talking about here, so what’s not to like, right? He’s handsome, funny, and smarter than you.”

Johnny gets irked by the last comment but he doesn’t pay attention to it. “Taeil _hyung_ , I’m serious. We don’t hang out that much, only when he decides to sneak in through the fire exit—”

“Wait, what do you mean by—”

“—or whenever I buzz him in.” He ruffles his hair in annoyance and rests his head on the armrest. “I’m losing sleep over this Thai and I have no idea what I should do.”

Taeil sighs and drops his pen just beside his columnar. “You could tell him,” he begins, patting Johnny’s arm lovingly, Johnny responding by placing his head on Taeil’s lap and sighing loudly. “Or you can choose to _not_ tell him and pine from afar until you’re sure about your feelings. Who knows, maybe you’re just in need of someone to fuck—”

“I am _not_ looking for someone to fuck—”

“—or maybe—I have no idea, honestly. You’re on your own with this,” Taeil says, patting the side of his head. “I really have no idea what you see in him, but I have to admit he’s been acting weird and coming home later than usual.”

Johnny _does_ notice this. Who is he kidding; he notices _everything_ about Ten. But he has been coming home later than usual, the latest being five in the morning which was a stretch, even for Ten. Johnny does worry about this, but he figures he wasn’t even in the right position to ask him about this.

But friends can also ask about these things, right? Right?

“Why don’t you ask him about it?” Taeil says, voicing out Johnny’s internal conflict. He continued to caress Johnny’s hair in an attempt to calm him down and the younger likes how it does, nuzzling his head closer on Taeil’s thighs. “You’re friends, you can always do that.”

And indeed they were. At least that was something Johnny can always hold on to. 

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

By Monday, Johnny gathers up his courage to ask Ten. But Ten had not come home that day.

Tuesday also went by quickly, but Ten had his own keys. Johnny kinda missed the buzzing sound from his doorbell at what ungodly hour Ten chose to go home.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Nothing. Johnny had resorted into texting Ten and the Thai had holed up in his room sleeping, only managing to text back a **Sure, let’s talk soon, John ;)))** on Friday. Johnny considered this as progress, but slow progress wasn’t what Johnny wanted. 

The weekend rolls in and Ten disappears again just like in Tuesday. And Johnny’s starting to grow worried about the well-being of his friend. But he stays positive, thinking that whatever Ten was up to, he was doing it right and he was doing it because he wants to.

Right?

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

December comes by without Johnny asking Ten anything. Taeil deduces that it must be something the Thai couldn’t talk about but it’s definitely bothersome to Johnny. It occurred to him recently that Ten has been avoiding him, often running down the stairs once he catches sight of Johnny climbing down behind him. It hurt, yes, but he figures Ten needed time.

He’s also figured that Ten needed some fattening up as he was thinner than the last time they met.

As usual, Johnny’s evening was quiet. The streets were livelier than usual as the holidays were already fast approaching. Christmas lights surrounded the streets, families running up and down shops, looking for presents to buy. 

Johnny felt good about Christmas this year. Unlike last year, he had saved himself the effort of buying gifts by purchasing them online through a faster transaction. He’s also offered to play the piano for the Christmas mass next week at the chapel nearby, Mrs. Ji delightfully bringing him up a tin of cookies upon the suggestion.

He ate his dinner quietly, washes after himself and baths for a good five minutes. He takes the liberty of living alone to play the piano, a favorite past time of his. Slowly, his fingers play the keys to his favorite song, Johnny humming along to the tune with such melancholy. 

However in the middle of his performance, the doorbell buzzes, startling Johnny from his seat. He immediately gets up and buzzes the person in, internally expecting it to be _him_.

And it is who he expects it to be. On the other side stood Ten, the Thai donning tight fitting pants that hugged his skinny yet toned legs and boots that seem to be _on_ him wherever he went. His top, however, was not the prettiest sight: the fabric was smudged and slightly torn, bloodied just right around the collar of his faded white shirt.

Johnny’s brain shuts off for a moment, but he was quick to recover. “Shit, what happened?” he asks as soon as Ten steps into his apartment. The Thai collapses on his couch and that’s where his ear bleeding just, but most of the blood dried up. “Tennie, are you okay?” he asks, calling him by the nickname he’s made for Ten.

“Just got into a tiff. Don’t worry about it, John.” He curls his legs up and makes himself small against the couch’s armrest. Johnny busies himself by taking out his first aid kit from the cabinet before taking a seat to where Ten was. He asks Ten to tilt his head and once he does so, he begins cleaning the wound, Ten hissing at the rubbing alcohol Johnny was dabbing on his ear. He breathes in deeply and takes a whiff of the alcoholic smell that seemed to come from the Thai himself.

“Were you out drinking?” Johnny asks, dreading that nothing worse happened to Ten other than (obviously) getting beat up. To his relief, Ten shakes his no, smiling secretly as he gets cleaned up. “No, working. Have been for the past weeks, that’s why I get home at fuck o’clock in the day.” He sighs and allows his chin to rest on his knees. “Today was _really_ bad, though. I got myself beaten up for defending my sister.”

Johnny sees red and his veins pulses with anger. “What asshole did this to you?” he says, his tone shaky and testing.

Ten shrugs nonchalantly. “Just a drunk guy who wanted to dick my sister down. Said he wants to push her over the bar top and—“

“Okay. I get the gist,” cutting the Thai off before he can go in detail with his explanation. 

Silence takes over them as Johnny cleans Ten’s ear, his heart pounding loudly in his ears and chest. He was _working_ , for fuck’s sake and Johnny internally laughs at himself. _I’m one love-struck fuck_ , his mind tells him as he finishes up with cleaning Ten’s wound, dabbing disinfectant on the wound.

“The wound isn’t that deep. It’ll heal quickly so don’t worry,” Johnny says, taking a clean cotton ball from the box and placing it over the wound before securing it with a band aid. 

“Thank God that bastard only grazed me when I came up to check if he was okay,”

“You had time to do that _while_ your ass was getting beat up?”

Ten nods glumly, eyebrows furrowed tightly. “Should've knocked him out cold the first time if it weren’t for my sister stopping me,” Ten mutters, hugging his knees close to him. For a moment, Johnny looks at his best friend with pity; he can’t imagine himself working at a bar during the late hours of the day, yet here Ten was, getting beat up at a job his family supposedly owns.

He knows Ten was ferocious and unafraid — always carrying himself with an aura of confidence that seemed to say _Pay attention to me, I know something you don’t know_. If they haven’t grown closer over the span of six months, Johnny would’ve actually stayed far away from the intimidating Thai.

Yet in moments like this, Johnny could actually see the exhaustion behind his sharp glare, his muscles loosening as he relaxes from the adrenaline that rushes in him too quickly for his own good.

Johnny stares at the pretty earrings Ten seems to never take off and he wonders if Ten ever notices if one of them goes missing.

“He got my favorite earring,” Ten finally speaks up, confirming Johnny’s suspicions. “Fucker was slick and that was the most expensive earring in my collection as well,” the Thai whines, Johnny chuckling deeply in response.

They sit still for some time, Ten politely declining Johnny’s offer for coffee. They sit still once again, neither of them wanting to say a word about what happened tonight. Johnny’s mind still hasn’t wrapped around the fact that Ten was beat up just for defending someone who wanted to fuck his sister. “Pray that it’s the last time,” he says, bitterly chuckling as he rubs the back of the Thai’s head, Ten momentarily melting into the older’s palm.

“Tell you what,” Johnny begins, removing his hand from the back of Ten’s head. “Don’t attend work on Christmas. Come on over the chapel and let’s celebrate Christmas together,” he says to the Thai.

“I’m not religious, Johnny.”

“I kinda figured that. I volunteered to play the piano for the Christmas mass so I was wondering if you could drop by and maybe we’ll have dinner back here?” Johnny asks. Ten looks at Johnny with wide eyes. Johnny looks at him expectantly and with bated breath. Of _course_ it would be unusual for him to ask about this thing in this situation, but he couldn’t help it.

He’d have to ask him once it was too late.

“I’d love to, John. I’ll ask my sister about it,” Ten says, smiling as if to comfort him. Johnny swells with joy on the inside, yet he doesn’t show it. “I’m interested in seeing you play the piano since I haven’t seen you actually do it.”

“You hear me play every time,” Johnny says, laughter rumbling from within him as he remembers how he used to annoy Ten back when they were “enemies”. Ten laughs along with him, shaking his head as he says, “It’s still different from seeing you actually play.”

They talk endlessly, catching up with lost time and Johnny couldn’t be more delighted about the situation. He talked as if never ran out of things to talk about. He talked as if he hasn’t talked at all in his lifetime. And he loved how Ten responded in the right place, how the younger gave him his opinions with grit and much thought. 

By the time they were done, it was close to one in the morning. Ten takes this as his signal to leave and so he does, quietly bidding Johnny good night—good morning, rather—before tiptoeing to give him a kiss on the cheek.  
Johnny could only hang his mouth open, his palm lightly touching the area Ten kissed. “Thank you again. See you on the twenty-fourth, Youngho,” Ten says before climbing down the steps and entering his room, shutting it loud enough for Johnny to hear.

The older re-enters his with a content sigh, his lips drawn to a smile that reached his ears. It had been a while since he’s felt _this_ giddy about Christmas and he was feeling good about spending Christmas Eve with the closest friend he’s had ever since coming to live here (save from Taeil, of course).

However, for now, he’ll walk with baby steps. 

He needs to get him new earrings. 

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

As his Christmas tradition, Johnny has always taken a liking to playing the piano every Christmas Eve for the chapel just across the street. Although he wasn’t _that_ big on religion unlike his parents, he liked having a little gift for those who went to hear mass, even going on to play piano for the entire day on the twenty-fourth if he wants to. There wasn’t anything particularly special about him playing the piano during Christmas Eve, save for the hot mulled wine the Russian priest gives them after the mass.

However, this year was somewhat special to him in some kind of way. Ten was a special person to Johnny and he can’t help but feel happy about something so small yet so precious.

Johnny dresses warmly, remembering to put on a coat over the Christmas jumper his mother had knitted. He texts Ten saying that he’s gonna go ahead since he has to practice a bit more. Ten replies immediately, saying, **I’ll follow on ahead in a while. I just have to wait for something :)**. Johnny tries to not get worried and leaves his room for the chapel, greeting Taeil and his guests in his office, handing him his gift with his gloved hands. 

“Out to play for the Christmas mass?” Taeil asks and Johnny nods. “As always, _hyung_. That’s the only thing that never changes around here.”

“Heard from a little bird that you invited Ten, so I guess _that’s_ a change,” Taeil replies, making Johnny go red from the neck up. The older laughs and pats his arm, wishing him good luck and a Merry Christmas. Johnny does the same before stepping out into the streets, the first few drops of snow landing gently on his coat as he walks to the chapel. 

He arrives with much time to spare and so he does the honor of warming the piano up, taking off his gloves and running his fingers over the familiar keys. He starts to play and rehearse the pieces for tonight until such time, people start filling the place. Families and friends sit together; others sat with their significant others and Johnny wonders if Ten was ever going to arrive tonight.  
He feels a bit worried, but he trusts in Ten enough to wait for him. And as the commentator begins the greeting and urges the people to stand and sing the entrance song, Johnny plays the piano with ease but mindlessly. 

_Ten will arrive_ , he thinks to himself. Although he doesn’t want to keep his hopes up, a part of him still wants to believe.

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

Ten does arrive after the offertory, sliding into one of the pews quietly as his nose and cheeks flushed red from the biting cold. Johnny makes it a point to send Ten a glare but the Thai smiles sheepishly at him, waving cutely from where he sat. He mouths a ‘sorry’ and Johnny wonders if the air conditioning in the chapel was down or was it just his nerves that were acting up.

He nearly misses playing the piano for the Hosanna and from his peripheral vision, he sees Ten chuckle at him, making him smile at his silliness.

_God, what is this person doing to me?_

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

Mass finishes ten minutes before midnight. Johnny briskly walks to the chapel’s entrance, a cup of hot mulled wine in hand and starts looking for Ten, who he sees seated on the benches by the side. He takes a seat by the Thai and quietly sipped on his drink, watching as the snow falls and covers the streets like a blanket.

“Is that good?” Ten asks from beside him and Johnny holds the cup in front of him. Ten takes the cup and takes a small sip, his nose scrunching up at the taste of the alcoholic beverage.

“You literally work in a bar, Tennie.”

“It’s _different_ with drinks from the bar. I happen to lock cocktails more than fancy wine.”

Johnny shrugs, going back to sipping his wine. Although his mind wonders if he can actually consider this as an indirect kiss.

He thinks he can and he laughs to himself. Ten looks at him weirdly and Johnny dismisses him, choosing to down the rest of his wine and scalding his tongue in the process.

ૢ

ૢ✧∘*

Dinner was delightful. Unbeknownst to Johnny, Ten had whipped up Christmas pie for them to eat for dessert (which kinda explains why he was late to mass), the Thai’s specialty, although admitting afterwards that he had to ask for help from one of his friends in order to make it in time for tonight.

“This is so _good_ ,” Johnny says, taking another piece from the tray. Ten mutters a ‘thank you’, pleased with the older’s reaction to his cooking. It hadn’t occurred to Johnny how lucky he was to have Ten over for dinner, or else it would’ve been just him celebrating with store-bought lasagna and a pint of ice cream as he cries over Christmas movies.

“You have to give me the recipe,” Johnny urges, to which Ten turns down. “Sorry. It’s a friend’s recipe and I swore on my life that I wouldn’t tell him, no matter who asked.”

Johnny pouted, his mouth full of the sweet pie. “Not even me?” he asks after swallowing the piece he’s just eaten and his pout grew as Ten nodded his head. Johnny throws a used tissue at the Thai and it lands just right inside his drink, Ten shrieking in protest as he slaps Johnny’s arm. Johnny could only laugh loudly in his seat while Ten busies himself for another drink, fussing at how the soda was wasted on Johnny’s crusty tissue.

After much argument, they finally clean up and retreat to the couch, sitting on each side as their legs tangled with one another. Johnny gives them each a small pint of ice cream and they began talking like old friends.

To Johnny, it was funny and nice how time passed when they’d just babble ceaselessly. Even though they were talking about nonsense, it was the kind that wouldn’t tire him, and Ten, likewise, doesn’t get bored of it at all. They talk of Johnny’s family, who was away at America and how he works as a freelance photographer in Korea despite his father’s wishes. Ten talks about how his family’s close to disowning him, seeing that he’s stopped taking law even though he was already in his final year and was about to take boards the following year.

“We live very different lives now. That’s why I’m here,” Ten explains, scooping more of his chocolate ice cream and eating it. “They never got angry at my sister who went on to study mixology in order to become the owner of her bar. But I guess it’s always about the money we brought in when it came to my family.”

“Maybe your father had his reasons?”

“Yeah. One is to fulfill his failed dream of being a lawyer through his son and two is just gaining money to brag to his friends.” Johnny observes how the Thai was smiling down on his ice cream as he ate, casually wiping his eyes as if there were actual dust caught on it. “They were never really proud of me to begin with, and I only had my sister to fight for me the day I wanted to leave.”

"That's good though," Johnny says, feeding himself a spoonful of his coffee-flavored sweet. "At least your sister understands. I had no one on my side when I said I wanted to leave for Korea and live in my parents' previous apartment just so I could follow my passion."

Ten smiles apologetically. "That's nice, Johnny. I love how you know exactly what to do in life," he compliments, making Johnny heat up. 

_I honestly have no idea what to do with my feelings for you, but here we are_ , Johnny thinks to himself and finishes the last of his ice cream before placing the pint on the floor. "Not exactly. I shifted courses twice until I finally settled with photography. Dad was mad, but what can I do? I didn't want to read muddle over laws all day and I certainly didn't want to cut up anyone's body open in fear of probably failing to save the patient instead."

“Finishing with a degree is still better than nothing, to be honest.”

“If this is about you feeling sorry for yourself, I’m not having it, okay?” Johnny says, moving closer to the Thai. He takes the pint of ice cream from Ten’s hands and places his own hands on top instead. “You’re amazing even without one. Heck, you’re a lot smarter than I am.”

“Aren’t I?” Ten jokingly says, earning a light slap to the arm from Johnny. “I’m being serious here, Chittaphon.”

“I know. And I’m being serious as well, Youngho,” he retorts and Johnny does his best to keep in a smile but ultimately fails. He asks Ten to stay put and stands to retrieve a small box from his closet. He returns to his seat across Ten and holds the box up, the Thai obviously confused.

“Merry Christmas, Ten,” Johnny greets, eliciting a smile from the Thai as he hands him the box. “I know you love earrings and I kinda feel bad that you lost a pair during that horrible fight.”

“You… didn’t have to, Johnny. Seriously,” Ten tells him, delicately opening the box and running his fingers on the stainless silver inside. It was a dainty pair of helix earrings lined with a thin line of gold and a star in the middle, as if it was made for Ten. The Thai does the job of taking it out of the box and hooking it on his ears. “Does it look nice, Johnny?” he sweetly says, uttering the older’s name as he shows him his new earrings. 

Johnny’s stomach flutters at the mention of his name and for a while, he is frozen in place. But he remembers how to nod and does so. “It does. It suits you perfectly, Ten,” he answers and the Thai beams at him. He stands and walks to Johnny’s television, opening the cabinet underneath to reveal a DVD player that looks brand new.

“Wanna cry and watch Christmas movies with me?”

“I was _just _about to ask that.”__

____

ૢ✧∘*

Near towards the end of the film, Johnny looks back from the floor to see the Thai sleeping peacefully on the couch, his coat draped over him like a warm blanket. His breathing was steady, his mouth slightly open and Johnny marvels at how pretty they look up close, his lower lip looking plump and red.

Johnny forces himself to look away, suppressing the need to just climb up on the couch and cuddle with Ten. He does the job of keeping himself distracted by turning the television and player off, returning the DVDs in their rightful places. He clears their ice creams and wipes the floor clean before retreating back into the living room.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to play it,” Johnny mutters to himself, positioning himself in front of the piano. As it was already a habit of him to play the piano before bed, he hasn’t gotten used to sleeping without even playing a piece or two.

So he gets to work, playing once again his favorite Christmas song ever since he was a child. His hands work deftly along the keys, gliding perfectly as he played softly, humming once again as he did last time.

“That’s the one you were playing before I interrupted last week, right?” Johnny’s hands press over the keys, a dissonance resounding from the instrument. He turns to look behind him and notices the Thai sitting upright, his hair tousled as he rose from his slumber.

“You were awake?” Johnny says, slightly feeling offended at how ten would pretend to sleep just to hear him play piano. Ten shakes his head and stands to take a seat beside Johnny on the piano bench. “I heard you humming so I woke up. Mind you, I kinda am sensitive with voices whenever I slept,” he explains. 

Johnny could only nod in response as Ten runs his own fingers on his beloved instruments, his hands delicate enough to be playing piano and Johnny wonders if he does actually know how to.

“Play that song again for me,” Ten asks. “The one that you were playing earlier.”

And so Johnny does, playing softly and slower this time. He starts humming along before eventually singing to the instrumental. “ _Have yourself a merry little Christmas_ ,” he begins, the Thai learning his face on his forearm as he does. Johnny could only smile in delight as he continues, “ _Let your heart be light. From now on our troubles will be out of sight._ ”

Ten hums along to Johnny’s singing and eventually, the song comes to a close. Johnny finishes and Ten claps beside him, retreating from his leaning state.

“That was lovely,” Ten says to him. “So that’s how you play piano up close,” he comments, making Johnny laugh for the nth time tonight. 

“What do you think it looked like?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something like this?” Ten demonstrates, dramatically running his fingers over the keys and Johnny couldn’t be happier with the company. 

But after Ten horsing around, the Thai deduces that it was time to go back to his room. And so he does, exiting out of the fire place as he usually does like the dramatic person he was.

Johnny, however, didn’t want to lose the opportunity already. So he takes Ten’s hand just as he had said good night, saying, “Wait.”

Ten looks back, visibly confused. But nonetheless, he gets the message and re-enters Johnny’s room. “Yes?” he says and for a moment, Johnny doesn’t know what to do, his mind blank at the sight of the person he’s been pining on for months.

Does he just confess? Or does he take the time to think about it first? Does he blurt everything now? Or does he wait until he can spit out the three words he’s been meaning to say since before?

“Actually, nevermind,” he dismisses, holding himself back from sighing loudly in disappointment. “You can go back to your room now.”

But the next thing Ten says is what makes his brain short-circuit momentarily.

“Johnny, I’m not leaving here until you ask me to kiss you.”

“I—what?” Johnny says, confused at the Thai’s words. He takes a look above him, wondering if someone had magically placed mistletoe on top of their heads and Ten laughs at the gesture. 

Ten, however, was impatient and rolls his eyes at Johnny’s antics. He takes Johnny’s wrist and pulls him down his height, his eyes burning and that only increased Johnny’s heartbeat by the minute. “Look. I had no gifts to prepare for today. And I want this more than anything else right now.” Ten swallows and rests his forehead on Johnny’s. “But this is the second best thing I can give you, okay? Number one is my pie, above anything else,” Ten mutters before closing the space between them, their noses bumping until their mouths finds one another. 

Their lips fit perfectly and Johnny takes note of how no other lips he’s ever kissed would come close to how Ten’s lips felt against his. Ten kisses him slowly, Johnny kissing him back with just as much tenderness, afraid that something might break if he goes any rougher. Johnny couldn’t believe his luck, honestly. And by the time his brain has had enough power to process what just happened, Ten pulls away, a smirk adorning his face.

“Oh my God,” Johnny mumbles, bringing a hand up to his mouth in order to touch it. “That did _not_ just happen.”

“Yes, it did happen. I actually wanted to kiss you when you gave me the earrings but that would’ve been awkward.” He climbs out of the room once again and looks back, saying, “Good night, John,” Ten says for the second time that night and descends down the stairs, Johnny following after him. 

“Would you like to have breakfast tomorrow?” he calls out, his cheeks flushed red and his nose blushing from the biting cold. After all, if they wanted to make this work, he’d have to be braver than how Ten that night.

“I’d be delighted to,” Ten calls out, blowing him a kiss. “Now go to sleep. You still have to cook for us tomorrow,” he teases and disappears into his own room.   
Johnny waves at him and doesn’t enter his room, choosing to linger on the exposed fire exit for a bit more. He looks at the streets covered in snow, the people walking and running coming from God knows where, holding hands and laughing merrily. He thinks of how envious he was of these people back then, how they’d have someone to always accompany them rather than dealing with everything by themselves.

Right now, however, he’s found something to be happy about, and he’s determined to take good care of it, even though they started out clumsily at first.

Johnny wanted this as much as Ten does. And it makes his heart swell now that he knows Ten wants this as well.

ૢ✧∘*

The next day, Johnny and Taeil meets at the lobby, Johnny smiling widely.

“I figured that you got laid last night?” Taeil asks, Johnny slapping his arm in response.

“Even better. We _kissed, hyung_.”

“Congratulations, Youngho,. I was actually thinking you were about to chicken out until next year, honestly.”

“Well, he would’ve if I didn’t kiss him first,” Ten interrupts, standing in between Taeil and Johnny. “Good morning, Taeil _hyung_. Good morning, John,” he greets, a big smile upon his face. Taeil greets him back and leaves them to their business, the couple exiting the apartment complex hand in hand as they walk around town in search of the perfect pancake restaurant.

“I was actually hoping you’d cook breakfast,” Ten says, pouting as he swung their arms together. Johnny laughs and clasps Ten’s hand tighter, holding it close to him. “I’m really sorry. I slept in, Tennie.”

Ten laughs at him and Johnny wonders if this was what music was made of. “I’m just kidding, John. Thank you for taking me out to breakfast,” Ten says, smiling at the taller one, Johnny smiling down at him in response as he bends down to place a kiss on the Thai’s temple.

Johnny wonders if this was the perks of starting his day with someone he liked—no, loved—and he figures that there’s probably more to it. 

But he’s okay with baby steps. As long as Ten’s right beside him, he doesn’t have anything to lose. 

As long as there was always a hand clasping his on every cold winter morning, he figures he doesn’t mind. 

It was Ten. What more explanation does he have left?

**Author's Note:**

> i also write socmed aus on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/softpeachboyjae) if you wanna read! 
> 
> see you on the next one!


End file.
